Customer Reviews

Growing Up Country: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
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Each chapter in this heartwarming book stands alone, giving a glimpse into one facet of rural life in 1950s Iowa. But I could not stop after one chapter or two, because Carol Bodensteiner paints with such a delicate brush the details of farm life that I wanted to be there with her, feeling the breeze, pulling at a cow's udder, playing in the hay mow. I did not grow up on a farm, but still I found the book charming and highly readable. For anyone who grew up on a farm, Carol has told their story and told it beautifully.

Read this! This is an eloquent, captivating, funny, and encompassing memoir of life in our country where: values are clear, self-reliance is revered, and hard work, self discipline and family were the themes of life. I want to buy a copy for everyone I know. I can't believe this isn't on the NY Times Bestseller List. I wished it were longer. Awesome!

"Growing up Country" is a must read for anyone who is interested in farming, the Midwest, Iowa or want to learn more what life was like for rural Americans in the middle of the 20th century. If you lived on a farm or lived in Iowa I would especially reccomend this book. It is full of comical, touching, and warm stories that will make it hard to put the book down. I am just a college student who has grown up in Iowa on a dairy farm. This book is so interesting because I can relate to most of the stories and find this book like looking at a mirror. Whether you have a farm background or not, this book is a must read because it inspires us readers to reflect on our own history and the people, places, and stories that have made an impact on our lives.

I enjoyed this book so much, I recommended it to my book club. It was a wonderful book to read and discuss -- well written, funny and very genuine. One of our book club members has parents living in an assisted living apartment -- so we decided to host an entire party around "Growing Up Country". We made jello salads and tuna noodle casserole. The tables were decorated with bright tablecloths from the 50's and EVERYBOODY had to wear an apron! Whether you grew up on a farm or as a city kid -- if you like reading, you will enjoy this book.

I loved this book, the autobiography of a young girl growing up in the heartland. Carol Bodensteiner,maiden name Denter, grew up on a farm in Iowa, the middle girl of three sisters. Her childhood was not that long ago but children growing up around her childhood in the cities had much different lives. There were movies, fast foods, jeans and different ways of dressing, fancy toys and trips to Disney Land.

Carol Bodensteiner had a wonderful childhood, not wealthy, but loved. The family was close, they all worked together, the children had their chores. Their two grandmothers spent alternate visits with the family so the girls grew to know their grandmothers. The kids loved playing with the baby animals but knew not to get too attached to them or give them names because the cows and chickens were their meal tickets plus their meals. Much chicken! But that was life. The parents were good, honest, decent people who taught their girls their own values to be carried on. Chores had to be done but were made to be fun. Food was home grown. Carol Denton felt honored to help with the milking. Her mother milked and did as much work as her husband. Carol felt grown. Her younger sister got to sleep late, but Carol felt important. Another time she got to drive the tractor with her fathers' help.

The family attended a small country church. When Carol was two, her father gave her a coin to be placed in the offering thus teaching her to honor God and to give to the church. Her mother taught her to cook and to plan meals. She wanted her girls to know their way around the kitchen plus around the rest of the house. The mother made the girls dresses which they wore to school every day. When the weather was cold they could wear long pants under their dresses. On the first day of school the mother lined the girls up and took their pictures. There are black and white pictures throughout the book. Carol and her sisters attended a one room school.

The father told his children never to buy anything they couldn't afford to pay for. He and Carol's mother were close with moeny. Carol Bodensteiner writes of these lessons in different chapters. Vacations lasted for one day, always visiting relatives, leaving after the milking, then returning home around dark.

I enjoyed reading about good, decent, hard working folks who lived the old American way of life. Old fashioned people with old fashioned ways.

My 8th grader had to choose a memoir for a book report. So many memoirs have inappropriate content for her age group. She got through 75% of "Little Heathens" but found it to be exasperating. Thankfully we came across this book and bought it used, she definitely recommends it!

First, I know the author. She has written a book that describes growing up on a farm long ago. Since I grew up on a farm in about the same time I know that she captured that age extremely well.

A magical book about a life on a farm, life in a world where the boundary between work and play was seamless, a world in which being allowed to get before dawn and help milk the cows was considered an honor. It's a book that makes me wish I had grown up on a farm.

Carol has captured all the charm of Iowa farm life. She brought me right back to my childhood. Farm life is hard work but she has depicted all that was good about those times. If you ever lived on a farm... pick up this book. You will smile, laugh and cry with Carol. I did.

Description:
Growing Up Country is a fun and innocent childhood memoir about growing up in the 1950's on an Iowa farm full of cows, chickens, Sunday dinners, and mischief. Each chapter is a single story or memory of growing up on the farm and learning family values, hard work, determination, respect, and discipline.

Review:
This memoir was everything I expected! It was an entertaining flashback of memories from "the good old days" with a genuine feel. The details were well-written and vivid, allowing me to get lost in Carol Bodensteiner's charming childhood stories, without the bulk of facts seen in other memoirs. The writing style was easily readable and very enjoyable, I even recommended it to a thirteen year old as a good candidate for a book report. I liked that it wasn't written just for adults, but also gave children a look at how life was in a different time; even though most life lessons have remained the same. I didn't grow up on a farm, but I did grow up in the country, so I appreciated the author's childhood thoughts and ideas, especially those that reminded me of my own grade-school memories. I haven't read many books about happy childhoods lately and it is refreshing to read about one that was so full of love and laughter. Overall, I am very happy I was able to read this book and get a look at a true American family. I only wish that the book hadn't ended so soon.

Rating: On the Run (4/5)

*** I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.